Rotary refiner



Aug. 25, 1953 E. P.v ARPlN, JR

ROTARY REFINER Filed Nov. 7', 1952 fnVErzmr Edmund P 1r/0in (fr MJ H5 Patented ug. 25,l 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ROTARY REFINER Y Edmund,l..-Arpin, Jr., Neenah', Wis.-

Application November 7, 1952, SeriatN. 319,293:

(Cl.y 92-26)i 3.Y Claims.

This invention relates tof a. material-treating;

machine and more particularly'tol improvements in rotary refining machines which` arefusedf tore-y ne wet, fibrous materia-lv, suchY aspulp, paper` Itlislanother object' ofthe invention to provid'e an improved backingv plate for rotary renersV and the like having novel means-for' centrolling stock passage through' the machine.

It is a further' importantl object of! this invention to provide a simpler and more: economical construction` which` is-alsoespeciallysatisfactory inthe refining of vlow consistency stock.

Other and further important objects of" this invention will be. apparent'- from the disclosuresY inv the-'specification and the' accompanyingf'draw-- ings.

On the drawings:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view of a rotary refiner embodying the principles of my invention;

Figure 2 is a fragmentary front elevational View of a backing element of the rotary assembly of the rotary renner of Figure 1; and

Figure 3 is a fragmentary transverse sectional View taken substantially along the line III-III of Figure 2.

As shown on the drawings:

In Figure 1, the reference numeral I indicates generally a rotary refiner embodying the principles of my invention, including a generally cylindrical shell or casing II provided with a liner 22 composed of a number of ring sections 23 which are formed of suitable abrasive material, such as stone, metal or a synthetic ceramic of an abrasive type. A series of equally spaced helical grooves 24 extend longitudinally in the machine and form continuous passages along the inner surface of the ring sections 23. The ring sections such as shown in Figure 1 at 23 are disposed in side-by-side relation along the length of the machine, and stock introduced at one end of the machine travels longitudinally through the machine over successive ring sections.

The particular refining machine herein illustrated includes rotor assemblies 25 pivotally mounted on a housing 26, in peripheral sets of four each, for rotation with the hollow shaft I9 to which. atubular central' portion 33 is keyed:

Each rotor' assembly includes a refining element- 2'l` secure in a backing plate 23" which has spaced! upst'anding ear portions 3|, Figure 21, which straddle flange partsr` 32 on the housing 26' and are pivotally mounted thereon by a pin 301 As the shaft I9 is`V rotated, the rotors move outwardly byv centrifugal'forcercausing the refining element toi coact with the abrasive surface of the liner ring. 23S to refine the fibrous material as it is' moved' betweenthe refiningA surfaces by the action ofi anv impeller at the inlet I end (not-shown)I and'. by the pressure-head under which material` is deliveredl tothe inletr opening. Both the; liner ringf Zandtheirener element 2-`IVr may beformed of' stone, metal or of a-syntlietic ceramic of an'-` abrasive type.

A positive acting linkagevr for' maintaining a minimum clearance'atiall times between the-surface' offeachrefining element and the abrasive surface'. ofthelin'er ring 234 comprises a lever 35 pivotallymounted'on the pin 3ll-on which is j ourn'aledthef refining element' 25. The lever35` at one end engages a bracket 3'9' carried by the refining element-25- and the other end` isdisposed in abutting contact with the end of a push rod 42 slidably mounted in aligned radial apertures in the hollow shaft I9 and the housing 26.

As a means of controlling the radially inward and outward movement of the push rod 42, there is provided a series of frusto-conical wedge members 43 secured to telescoping rods (not shown) extending longitudinally inside the shaft I9.

Further details of the construction and operation of a refining machine to which my novel rotor construction may be applied, may be found by reference to U'. S. Patent No, 2,475,869 to Edmund P. Arpin, Jr., on an application Serial No. 640,734, filed January 12, 1946.

The backing plate 28 comprises a substantially flat central portion 52 with an overhanging ledge 53 which extends across the leading end of the plate forming a seal against which the corresponding portion of the stone 21 is pressed when the vrotor is assembled therein. At both sides of the backing plate a wall portion 55 extends away from the at central portion 52.

A metal pressure pad 59 is disposed across the trailing edge of the rotor stone with a pad of cushioning material between the surfaces of the pad 59 and the stone. This cushioning pad may be of a material such as rubber, soft metal alloy or plastic to protect the stone surface under compression against the metal surfaces. A series of wedges 62 are disposed between a marginal flange 63 at the trailing edge of the backing plate 28 and the pressure pads 59. Stud bolts 65 are threaded at one end into each backing plate 28 and at the other end pass freely through an opening in each Wedge 62.

According to the present invention, for retarding passage of stock through the machine, a deector or fm element 'H0 is disposed at the leading edge of each reliner element backing member 28. As best seen in Figure 2, the iin may be located toward the outlet side of the refining machine, so as to tend to trap stock in the path of the associated reiiner element 25 during rotation of the rotor assembly. It will be observed, that the n T tends to block the gap such as indicated at 1|, Figure l, between succeeding rotor elements 25, and thus to reduce the cross-section of the path available to the stock through the machine. It will be observed that the outer edge of fin 72 is illustrated as being generally parallel to the inner surface of the abrading ring 23 and in close proximity thereto for substantially blocking travel of stock through the machine immediately in front of the reiiner element such as 2l.

The n 12 is positioned on each backing plate and purposely 'place-d toward the outlet side of the machine so that as the stock flows through the machine in an axial direction, while hugging the surface of the abrasive liner 23 because of centrifugal force, the stock is partially trapped and deflected by the various ns into the converging space S between the leading surface of each refining element and the abrasive liner 23. In this way a greater amount of reining is accomplished for a given size of machine and speed of rotation of the refining element.

It will be understood that details of construction may be varied through a wide range without departing from the principles of the present invention, and it is, therefore, not the purpose to limit the patent granted hereon otherwise than necessitated by the scope of the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

l. In a material-treating machine, a stationary shell having a cylindrical abrasive liner, through which material flows axially from an inlet to an outlet end thereof, a rotatable shaft mounted within and axially of said shell, centrifugally acting rotor elements carried by said shaft and peripherally spaced within said shell and movable toward said abrasive liner, said rotor elements including a backing plate and a material-treating element carried by said backing plate for cooperation with said abrasive liner, and means carried at the leading end of said backing plate for retarding passage of material axially of the shell, and for deiiective material between said element and said abrasive liner.

2. In a material-treating machine including rotor elements for moving transversely of the direction of passage of material through said machine and carrying a material-treating element for interaction with the material, the improvement which comprises a deflector member carried at the leading edge of said rotor elements for retarding the passage of material through said machine and deecting said material into the path of movement of said rotor elements.

3 In a material-treating machine, a stationary shell having a cylindrical abrasive liner, through which material iiows axially from an inlet to an outlet end thereof, a rotatable shaft mounted within and axially of said shell, centrifugally acting rotor elements `carried by said shaft and peripherally spaced within said shell and movable toward said abrasive liner, said rotor elements including a backing plate and a material-treating element carried by said backing plate for cooperation with said abrasive liner, and means carried at the leading end of said backmg plate for retarding passage of material axially of the the shell, and for delective material between said element and said abrasive liner, said retarding means comprising a 4lin projecting forwardly from the leading end of the backing plate to partially close the space between 'succeeding rotor elements.

EDMUND P. ARPIN, JR;

No references cited. 

